STORY BEHIND THE RECIPE
Bak Kut Teh is one of the very popular dishes that people must try when they come to Singapore (Malaysia also has its own version, of course!).
The name is literally translated as ‘Meat Bone Tea’, but the name is rather misleading because Bak Kut Teh does not actually contain any tea at all, it is actually a soup! Perhaps it’s the soup’s color that resembles tea or because ‘tie guan yin’ or ‘Ooloong’ tea is often served with Bak Kut Teh, which gave rise to that name.
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There are a few different versions of Bak Kut Teh. The Hokkien style soup, which is similiar to the Klang style, is dark in color, thicker and more herbal, whereas the Teochew style is a clear and peppery soup which is what I’m going to share with you today.
TRICK OF THE TRADE
It is best to use fresh pork ribs with a bit of fat around it, so the ribs will be nice and tender after cooking. I mentioned before that I prefer to buy Indonesian Pork. I find that it is more tender and sweeter than others.
For our halal friends, you can still enjoy this dish by replacing the pork ribs with chicken thighs (Chick Kut Teh) but the cooking time should be shortened to about 40 minutes, as chicken requires less time to cook.
The garlic you use for the soup base is also very important – always buy the old garlic that is sold as loose individual cloves, not the young garlic that is sold as a whole bulb, which may look more presentable but is much less flavourful!
WHAT I LOVE ABOUT THIS DISH
- It’s a great dish to have on a really cold day! The colder the day, the better, as this hot, peppery soup really warms you up after having it.
- The fall-off-the-bone pork ribs make for easy eating! It also goes great with chilli with dark soy sauce.
HOW TO MAKE BAK KUT TEH?
- Blanch the pork ribs in a pot of boiling water over high heat for 10 mins. Discard the water and use a small knife to scrape off any blood clots or scum stuck to the pork ribs. Rinse well and set aside.
- Toast the white and black pepper in a toaster oven or in a pan for a few minutes until aromatic.
- Pound the star anise, white pepper, black pepper, cloves and cinnamon lightly. Place these spices in a small filter bag.
- Lightly bruise the garlic with skin on.
- In a large pot, add 1.8 litres of water and bring to a boil over high heat.
- Once boiling, add in the blanched pork ribs, salt, dark soy sauce, light soy sauce and the spice mix bag. Simmer for 1hr 15 mins over medium low heat with the lid half-covered.
- Add the bruised garlic and continue to simmer for another 15 mins or until the pork ribs are soft.
- More light and black soya sauce may be added to taste.
- When the bak kut teh is almost done, lightly toast the stock-bought you tiao for a few minutes. Then cut the you tiao to bite-size pieces.
- Wash the chilli and slice it, then and put in a small bowl. Add 5 TBsp dark soya sauce and 3TBsp light soya sauce to the bowl as the dipping sauce.
- Fish out and discard the bag of spices. Serve the bak kut teh with the dipping sauce, you tiao and rice.
MARKETING TIPS
- DIY your own spice mix with small filter bags from Daiso. They are also great for making ikan bilis stock without having to sieve the stock after cooking!
- Or use ready-made spice mix to save time (skip steps 3 and 4).
- Always buy old garlic because it is more flavourful. It’s larger and is usually sold in individual cloves, whereas young garlic is sold as a whole bulb! Old garlic won’t turn green like young garlic does after a while.
- Remember to get some dough fritters ‘you tiao’ to go along with this dish
COOKING TIPS
- The finer you crush the pepper, the more peppery the soup will be. Adjust according to your preference
- Add some pork bones to enhance the sweetness of the soup.
- You can replace pork ribs with chicken thighs, but the cooking time should be shortened to 40 minutes as chicken requires less time to cook.
HOW TO CHOOSE PORK RIBS
- Use fresh pork ribs. Frozen pork ribs tend to be dry and hard after cooking for a long time.
- Pork ribs should some fat marbling, so that the meat remains tender after boiling.
- In Singapore, pork comes from Indonesian and Australian. Indonesian pork tends to be more tender and sweeter in taste. It is available in the wet markets as well as in some supermarkets which carry fresh Bulan (Indonesian) pork.
DIETARY MODIFICATIONS
- Egg-Free: No modifications needed.
- Fish-Free: No modifications needed.
- Gluten-Free: Skip the fried dough fritters (you tiao), and use gluten free soy sauce.
- Nut-Free: No modifications needed.
- Shellfish-Free: No modifications needed.
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Bak Kut Teh (肉骨茶)
Ingredients
- 1 kg Pork Ribs
- 1.8 litres Water
- 1 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1/2 tsp Dark Soy Sauce
- 2 TBsp Light Soy Sauce
- 12 cloves Garlic (old)
Homemade Spice Mix
- 2 Star Anise
- 10 Cloves
- 1/2 stick (3-4gm) Cinnamon
- 2-4 tsp White Pepper (whole)
- 1 tsp Black Pepper (whole)
Sauces, Garnishes and Toppings
- 4 Big Red Chilli
- 5 TBsp Dark Soy Sauce
- 3 TBsp Light Soy Sauce
- 2 Chilli Padi For Garnishing
- 4 sticks You Tiao Pre-cooked
Instructions
PREPARATION METHOD
- Blanch the pork ribs in a pot of boiling water over high heat for 10 mins. Discard the water and use a small knife to scrape off any blood clots or scum stuck to the pork ribs. Rinse well and set aside.
- Toast the white and black pepper in a toaster oven or in a pan for a few minutes until aromatic.
- Pound the star anise, white pepper, black pepper, cloves and cinnamon lightly. Place these spices in a small filter bag.
- Lightly bruise the garlic with skin on.
- Wash the chilli and slice it, then and put in a small bowl. Add 5 TBsp dark soya sauce and 3 TBsp light soya sauce to the bowl as the dipping sauce.
COOKING METHOD
- In a large pot, add 1.8 litres of water and bring to a boil over high heat.
- Once boiling, add in the blanched pork ribs, salt, dark soy sauce, light soy sauce and the spice mix bag. Simmer for 1hr 15 mins over medium low heat with the lid half-covered.
- Add the bruised garlic and continue to simmer for another 15 mins or until the pork ribs are soft. More light and black soya sauce may be added to taste.
- When the bak kut teh is almost done, lightly toast the stock-bought you tiao for a few minutes. Then cut the you tiao to bite-size pieces.
- Fish out and discard the bag of spices. Serve the bak kut teh with the dipping sauce, you tiao and rice.
Notes
- DIY your own spice mix with small filter bags from Daiso. They are also great for making ikan bilis stock without having to sieve the stock after cooking!
- Or use ready-made spice mix to save time (skip steps 3 and 4).
- Always buy old garlic because it is more flavourful. It's larger and is usually sold in individual cloves, whereas young garlic is sold as a whole bulb! Old garlic won’t turn green like young garlic does after a while.
- Remember to get some dough fritters 'you tiao' to go along with this dish
- The finer you crush the pepper, the more peppery the soup will be. Adjust according to your preference
- Add some pork bones to enhance the sweetness of the soup.
- You can replace pork ribs with chicken thighs, but the cooking time should be shortened to 40 minutes as chicken requires less time to cook.
- Use fresh pork ribs. Frozen pork ribs tend to be dry and hard after cooking for a long time.
- Pork ribs should some fat marbling, so that the meat remains tender after boiling.
- In Singapore, pork comes from Indonesian and Australian. Indonesian pork tends to be more tender and sweeter in taste. It is available in the wet markets as well as in some supermarkets which carry fresh Bulan (Indonesian) pork.
This worked beautifully for me! Never again shall I buy another MSG-laden bak kut teh spice bag. Using this recipe, I can now appreciate the contribution of spices to this classic soup.
My only tip is to put the crushed spices in two spice bags, one after another. My first one spilt out some of the contents and made for very spicy soup!
Hello, thanks so much for sharing the recipe. I wanted to make my own Bak Kuh Teh spices from scratch, not using the ready made ones. This is really delicious.